5 Ways To Level Up Your Photography From Home
African elephant photographed on safari in South Africa, July 2019 - Hannah Rudd
In light of the current global situation a lot of aspects of our lives are uncertain right now, with many people, particularly within the freelance world, feeling especially insecure about the future. For creative people who rely so heavily on the freedom to roam it can feel like our creativity is being squashed.
Not everyone will want to use this time to be productive - and as an advocate for looking after your mental health, I wholeheartedly believe you should be doing whatever feels best for you right now - but if you do want to capitalise on this time it can be an opportune moment to get on top of things.
So how can you best use the time you have at home to maximise your photography? Here’s a couple of my suggestions:
1. Go Through Old Hard Drives and Find New Edits
This is something that is often on our to-do lists but we put it off because it can be such a tedious task - especially if we have thousands of photos to go through.
But taking time to delete photos that definitely aren’t keepers to free up space and to organise existing shots into easy to find folders can really streamline your workflow. Looking through old photos to edit them with fresh eyes can also often create images you previously hadn’t thought of and allow you to use your creative expression in new ways.
This is also a fantastic time to get into the habit of backing up all of your photos and footage. I learnt the hard way of the importance of doing this frequently then when I recently deleted 700 of my video clips from the last year by accident - now they’re lost forever and I’m still mad at myself for it.
2. Update Your Website and Photography Portfolio
Your website is your personal marketing tool and it’s important for you to keep it fresh and updated with your latest work as often as possible. This is something I’m personally guilty of not keeping on top of all the time, but it’s a necessity that we make time for it.
Your website can often be a potential client or collaborators first insight into what you can offer and it’s essential that it mirrors what you can do now - you’ve undoubtedly improved from a few years, even months, ago so it’s vital your website reflects that.
3. Practice Your Skills in Your Garden
If you’re a wildlife photographer, like me, then your garden can provide a great training ground for brushing up on your technical skills and getting more familiar with your gear before your next big trip. There is nothing worse than being unfamiliar with your kit in the field and missing that, potentially, once-in-a-lifetime shot.
Do not be that photographer.
4. Follow Online Editing Tutorials
Any good photographer knows that taking a decent image in-camera is only part of the job. With so much time on our hands at home now is a great time to hone our skill sets.
Thanks to the blessings of modern technology there are now a wealth of online classes you can take to learn how to use processing software like Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom. From free tutorials like those found on YouTube to subscription based services like Skillshare, LinkedIn and Udemy, there’s a range of courses out there to suit different price points and technical levels.
5. Refine Your Social Media Strategy
As a photographer social media is integral for showcasing your portfolio, driving sales and recruiting more clients - plus it gives you a chance to contribute to the wider photography community online, connect with others and receive critiques (and compliments) to make your work better in the future.
I really believe that social media is an art form. It’s not something I profess to be an expert in but over the last few months I’ve spent a considerable amount of time reading a tonne of articles out there on the internet about increasing reach and engagement.
One of my favourite article discoveries - that I rely on religiously now - is this guide to the best times to post on social media which has very visual graphics that are easy to understand.
It’s constantly a learning process trying to understand how best to market ourselves on social media and now is an ideal time to get our heads around the intricacies of that world.
Got any other suggestions? Leave them in the comments below.